Inglourious Basterds - 2008 A.L. Only League

[TomSiebert]

Returned w/in minutes of Meat's password pass-on.....Mister White is in the Central, and kudos to Zim on the password.

Meat: Reservoir is spelled with a second R. You might want to tell Mr. Pink.... :D

tws

[JAMESZIMMER]

Absolutely right, Meat. Tim Roth was gut shot as he watched Blonde do his thing. In case anyone has'nt seen it, check out Jackie Brown. Great underrated movie.

[TomSiebert]

QT's "Reservoir Dogs" was one of the very first movies I saw as a professional film reviewer -- not counting my years at the U Md Diamondback, under the editorial tutelage of our very own Elko Al -- and when it ended I felt like I had been punched repeatedly in the face by a wisecracking intellectual.

As I was walking out, I remember very clearly the pretty young movie flack asking me anxiously, "What did you think?" and I said "It's probably a work of genius, but I don't think I'd ever want to see it again." And I haven't. While "Pulp Fiction" remains QT's best movie (with the caveat that I've not yet seen "Inglorious Basterds"), "Reservoir Dogs" changed movies, and not necessarily for the better -- a lot of wannabe hard-boiled wish-they-were auteurs churned out slews of mean-spirited, gratuitously violent gangster garbage with flat but rapid dialogue trying to pass as banter, even as recently as last year's lousy "Smokin' Aces."

QT himself has turned out a lot of crap since, and I've seen it all and not liked much of it. Other than "Pulp Fiction," my fave movie of his is actually directed by Tony Scott, the very funny, loaded with tough guys and stars in the making (Brad Pitt! Val Kilmer! James Gandolfini!) "True Romance," back when Christian Slater seemed like he might become a Big Movie Star and the next Jack Nicholson.

Otherwise, all the QT movies feel too long for me, with conversations that may ring true but drag on too long -- "Jackie Brown," as well plotted as it is, is probably the best of the lot, but still meanders (and why it didn't make Robert Forster a big star again, I have no idea). "Kill Bill" 1 & 2 was a great showcase for Uma (and her feet), and it was cool the way the stylized direction shifted for each segment, but felt even longer than its 4+ hours. Both the "Grindhouse" movies were boring (though "Planet Terror was the worse half, and that's largely Robert Rodriguez's fault), save for the incredible stunt-laden car chase climax of "Death Proof" and the short faux coming attraction of Eli Roth's "Thanksgiving," (which was absolutely hilarious).

Which brings us to the worst part of QT's influence on Hollywood -- he's helped launch the careers and promote some of the most detestable and demeaning product to come out of a town that has never hesitated to go through the bottom of the barrel if it thinks there might be a Benjamin beneath it. Eli Roth's horrible "Hostel" movies -- basically fictional torture/snuff films -- are the worst (and most successful of the lot), but there are many others.

For a guy who can make movies as fast as he does, he should be more prolific as well. He made arguably his three best movies in five years (92-97): Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown. In the dozen years since, he's made three (or four, if you count "Kill Bill" as two, though they were filmed simultaneously) movies that weren't nearly as good (well, note my caveat again), and one of them was pretty close to a B-movie throwaway in "Death Proof". He also directed a short, nasty portion of "Sin City," noteworthy more for being one of the few segments in the film where the gore supersedes the style instead of the reverse (because overall I LOVE "Sin City"), and a two-part episode of "CSI," which I've not seen.

tws

[Jeepdriver]

EAST
Jason (Uptown) - Progressive - [b:f1f116a932]IN [/b:f1f116a932]
Meat - Rogers Ctr -[b:f1f116a932] IN [/b:f1f116a932]
Turtle - Yankee Stadium - [b:f1f116a932]IN[/b:f1f116a932]
Zim - SAFECO - [b:f1f116a932]IN [/b:f1f116a932]

CENTRAL
Sarge - Angel Stad. - [b:f1f116a932]IN[/b:f1f116a932]
Terry - Kauffman - [b:f1f116a932]IN[/b:f1f116a932]
Old Torii - Metrodome -
Tom - Fenway - [b:f1f116a932]IN[/b:f1f116a932]

WEST
Jeep - Tropicana
Al (ElkoSkipper) - Rangers
Curt - Camden Yards
Calbatross - US Cellular

* Just Torii left for the Central

[schnoogens]

Sorry for the delay, I wasn't able to get into the message boards since last night. I'm in now.

I actually enjoyed Planet Terror for its cheesy humor, but obviously it's just a B-movie schlockfest. Death Proof really drags at some points but for some reason it has really stuck with me (hence my team name).

"Remember when I said this car was death proof? Well, that wasn't a lie. This car is 100% death proof. Only to get the benefit of it, honey, you REALLY need to be sitting in my seat."

[Jeepdriver]

Classic dialogue from Pumpkin & Honey Bunny (hence my team name) in PF of course and per QT I'll have to clean it up a bit for here:

[HONEY BUNNY]
I love you, Pumpkin.

[PUMPKIN]
I love you, Honey Bunny.

[PUMPKIN]
Everybody be cool this is a robbery!

[HONEY BUNNY]
Any of you f-in' pricks move and I'll execute every m*ther-f'ing last one of you!

[Jeepdriver]

And the West needs the PW please.

[MEAT]

got the password to jeep, al, ad moneymaze,curt...calbatross is rarely if ever on here, so Ill search out his pm box, but might want to make sure he gets it somehow...

[MEAT]

found cal...password to all in the west. should autodraft tonite,,,

[Jeepdriver]

Al and I are in.